Title: Ideology and Status of Sanskrit: Contributions to the History of the Sanskrit Language

Author: Houben, Jan E M (ed)

Publisher: Brill; Publication Date: 1996

Hardcover; ISBN: 9789004106130

Volumes: 1; Pages: x, 502

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The present volume is the outcome of a seminar on the Ideology and Status of Sanskrit held in Leiden under the auspices of the International Institute for Asian Studies. The book contains studies of crucial periods and important areas in the history of the Sanskrit language, from the earliest, Vedic and pre-Vedic periods, through the period in which the (restricted) use of Sanskrit spread over practically all of South (including part of Central) and Southeast Asia (sometimes referred to as the period of "Greater India"), up to the recent history of Sanskrit in India.The contributions of this volume are divided into three sections: (1) Origins and Creation of the "Eternal Language"; (2) Transculturation, Vernacularization, Sanskritization; (3) The Sanskrit Tradition: Continuity from the past or Construction from the present?CONTENTSAcknowledgements List of Contributors 1 Introduction: towards a Social History of the Sanskrit Language 2 Pre-rgvedic convergence between Indo-Aryan and Dravidian? A survey of the issues and controversies 3 The early history of Sanskrit as supreme language 4 What was Sanskrit for? Metadiscursive strategies in ancient India 5 Sanskrit and reality: the Buddhist contribution 6 Jain attitudes towards the Sanskrit language 7 Socio-linguistic attitudes reflected in the work of Bhartrhari and later Grammarians 8 The Sanskrit Cosmopolis, 300-1300 C.E.: Transculturation, Vernacularization, and the Question of Ideology 9 The use of Sanskrit in South Indian royal inscriptions: social, political and religious implications 10 Speech of the Gurus: Instances of treatment of Sanskrit in Tantric literature 11 Tibetan expertise in Sanskrit Grammar: ideology, status and other extra-linguistic factors 12 More on the Karaka-samgraha, a Sanskrit grammatical text from Bali 13 The introduction of Indian Prosody among the Thais 14 'Do you speak Sanskrit?' On a class of Sanskrit texts composed in the Late Middle Ages 15 Sanskrit and Hindu national identity in nineteenth century Bengal 16 The place of Sanskrit in neo-Hindu ideologies: from religious reform to national awakening 17 Position of Sanskrit in public education and scientific research in modern India 18 Contextualizing the Eternal Language: Features of Priestly Sanskrit Bibliography Author Index General Index Map: The 'Sanskrit Cosmopolis' and Centres of Sanskrit learning